Language 'is' a Virus

Monday, September 25, 2017

I found it amusing when Stan Grof said that using astrology appeared even more contentious (to the modern intellectual mind) than using psychedelics!

As it happens, they won't use the traditional 'signs', during their course, that dominate trivial discourse of astrology. Their main focus remains on the planets and the major transits.

Let's face it, most people celebrate their 'birthday' (aka Solar Return - when the Sun returns to the same part of the sky as during our birth).

Quite a lot of women (at least) remain aware of the Moon Cycle - when we call the 'opposition' of Sun and Moon a 'Full Moon' and you can clearly see it, even in a light-polluted city. And the 'conjunction' of Sun and Moon has the label 'New Moon' (but this absence needs a bit more calculation).

So far, no real argument.

Most of us have no knowledge of 'our' Venus Return (about once a year), or Mars Return (every two years or so), or Jupiter Return (every 11-12 years), etc, for instance. And we don't care. They actually signify as much (or as little) as your Solar 'birthday', but most us don't have time to calculate or discover such relationships. We just use that handy 'calendar' thing (e.g. sometimes your Solar Return may actually happen a day before or after your 'calendar birthday', but hey, who cares, right? People have their party on the nearest Saturday, or whatever.)

I find the slower-moving planets even more interesting (and that's most of what this course seem to cover).

Saturn Returns (29, 58, 84) relate to crucial moments. As we approach 30, many people put away childish things and start to take life (and their possible future) more seriously. At the same time, if they have committed themselves early on to things, that 'looming 30' can prove a moment when they kick off the limitations and start afresh. You may get married, or divorced.

No, I am not saying "Saturn made me do it!" These planetary cycles act more like clocks (think, the Sun and the Seasons, which appear indisputable). The Jupiter Cycle of conjunctions happens every 12 years of so, and by coincidence (ahem!) my Jupiter conjunction happens on the 28th of this month, two days after the course starts. I rolled back the clock to my previous conjunction, and found myself studying 'The Tale of The Tribe' with Robert Anton Wilson (October 2005).

Other Transits can come into account, too. The outer planets move even more slowly, and we rarely complete cycles. Uranus Return happens at about 81. You may want to consider the 'opposition' transit point at age 42. And so on.

Once you get to Neptune and Pluto, their movements seem more accurately represented by cultural shifts, rather than human life cycles. And this course intends to reveal the patterns that seem to correlate with such big correlations - like 'The Thirties', or 'The Sixties', or our current times. Wouldn't you find it interesting if the current nonsense of Brexit and Trump revealed connections to earlier parts of similar cycles of cultural shifts?

That it may then refer back to my own adventures (I was 21 in 1967) would prove a perk.

Gonna re-activate this old blog, as a notebook for the course I am about to start on, with Stan Grof and Rick Tarnas.

I did an intense period of work on astrology in the late 70s, so I have a good basic grasp of the language, symbols, mythical meanings, etc. I looked at the various processes, and procedures, the history and so on.

I even did charts for various friends who asked; I also studied well-known people, etc.

I looked at the charts for events, too, and this course is particularly interested in this kind of side of astrology.

Saturday, December 12, 2015

Since I gave up show business (at the age of 51), and got my first 'proper job' in the local library, I have enjoyed this new phase of my life, and layer of skills. I don't have a professional qualification, but they have so de-skilled the library service that I feel entitled to loosely call myself 'a librarian'. After the first couple of years I found my way into the computer department (a DOS-based management system) so was in place for when the Library Service moved into a Windows environment, and for when libraries rolled out free internet access - at which point I described myself as the computer whisperer (as I didn't work in the IT Dept, but for the library service - more involved with the Human-Computer Interface than the technical side, but it gave me the opportunity to be an early uptaker of Internet - as part of my job!

Well, the library eventually 'let me go' at the age of 68, and I sort of retired. But then the non-animal circus I have been involved in so long offered me the job of creating an archive of their 30 year history.

For the last year I have been collecting up stuff, which is currently on display in a short-lived exhibition, is available on a newly-launched website here - www.nofitstatearchive.com - and the paperwork will all get laid down in the Glamorgan Archives - where it will be stored for future historians, a hundred years from now.

So, to 'librarian' I have added 'archivist' in my cv, still without any qualifications at all....

I plan to have another go at 'being retired', at least until my 70th birthday in February 2016.

Sunday, November 16, 2014

I have torn down the old website, rather than tinker with it. Currently it has a Home Page quickly made in Word (5 minutes) and a link to a dynamic 'Brain' map which I may use to put some links and bits together with, before re-creating a new website.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

This perennial question does assume that the smart thing to do with intelligence is earn money, and to the extent that having money does free up your time, eventually, it could prove a good idea. However, if you sell all your time in exchange for money, putting off your thinking time, or your creative time, until you have 'enough', then maybe it doesn't seem such a good plan.

In the simple terms of IQ tests (whatever you think they actually measure) I score quite highly. I got a scholarship type pass to the 11+ exam (although that apparently had a bias towards boys), and on various self-testing scales I did pretty well (though such tests seem rather unreliable). When Test The Nation first happened I scored higher than anyone in the studio, and as high as the best on-line participant, but that test is not one recognised by MENSA, for instance. MENSA chooses people from the top 2% of the population, whichever test that gets measured by.

I only once met a group of MENSA members, and don't remember a particularly stimulating time, but I would not dismiss the possibility that not all members are too glum or serious for me. I appreciate that I might simply have been boring company for them. Who can tell?

I reckon I know quite a lot of smart people, particularly if we look at them through the filters of multiple types of intelligence (cf: Howard Gardner), a model which seems to correlate with the world far better, as those earlier tests do seem biased towards literacy and numeracy, in spite of a certain number of spatial awareness elements, and didn't appear to consider excellence in arts of sports (for instance), or maybe relationships, or the ability to communicate, as forms of intelligence.

Although I generally lean towards text-based learning myself (after decades of putting myself through the circus skills hoops, to encourage the other aspects of myself) I still veer away from books that sound like this:

"Despite the many specific disagreements that have marked the development of these theories of aesthetic and cultural postmodernism, their development has generally been contained within a horizon of consensus that has defined valid theories of postmodernism according to their deployment of methodological self-reflexivity, based (sometimes covertly) in the unconditional rejection of categories of totality, or totalization - a rejection that acts as a negative totalization itself."
This, from a professor of English - discussing the vivid and lucid writer William Burroughs, in "Wising Up The Marks" - a title that sounded sufficiently 'street' that I might find it amusing and enlightening.

No way could I study 'English' in such a context of abstractions and technical jargon (although I did find lighter patches in this book). That form of abstract, analytical study is what made Samuel Beckett sound unfunny, and Joyce 'difficult'.

The main problem for me, however, remains my dislike of tests. I don't like the experience of auditions, interviews, exams, tests or any of those events. Fear of failure, like everyone else (of course) plays a part in that - but also wanting to know who was so damned clever that they can set the tests.

Monday, March 04, 2013

I never felt comfortable with other people or society's rules. I thought I was surrounded by idiots. I couldn't even work out why I was on this planet. I didn't want a job, or property, or respect, or power, or privilege.

I immediately fell in love with the assorted Zen fools that I came across in the literature, and in Western culture the bohemians and tramps and others who simply did not share the values of those around them.

At the same time, I felt sad to be alienated, because when humans act kindly, they seem really great! I began to feel that in the 60s, when I also stopped feeling so alone, but that didn't really help me re-integrate with society, as I didn't display any musical or graphic talent that could be traded, for instance.

Street performing emerged from my defiantly spending my time on something I found interesting, and taking no heed for the practicalities of tomorrow. It was other people who spotted the potential, and started to offer trade-off payments in kind (food, shelter, lifts, clothing) in return for the entertainment value they perceived. I never managed to hustle my hat-passing, like some of the more efficient/proficient performers who came along later, and turned it into a real profession. I simply did my thing, and then told people that was all I did, and if they wanted to see me again, they could contribute, and that if they had no money I hoped they enjoyed it. And that's all. I have always been embarrassed to ask, and never could beg, for instance, I'd rather starve.

So everything in Amanda Fucking Palmer's wonderful TED talk rang bells for me, from the 'get a real job' jibes, to wondering whether I was somehow exploiting people and relationships, and whether it was fair to act 'as if the world owed me a living'. I went through all that angst, and it was only the warmth and reassurance of other people (the audiences and students) that convinced me I was genuinely earning my right to be here, to do play/work. And having regained my trust in people around me, other opportunities opened up. Please, especially if you are a creative person, give Amanda just under 15 minutes of your time.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Just experimenting with using Personal Brain to navigate my website - testing Home Page code in Blogger. If it works here, then I may put it in place on the old website... Personal Brain helps organise the pages, and to the left of each box you'll find a link that takes you to the actual page. I will add more content to the bottom part of the frame, bit by bit.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

As ever, John Lennon said it better than me (see post title and YouTube clip) - although I have managed to claw a few more years out of this lovely little planet, and the illusion of an individual life, than he did. Bless him.

This morning, I found myself in a snarl-off about the job I have now put 15 years into, because although it seems that my fellow workers know what I contribute, the people who actually pay me don't seem to value the role that highly. Hey ho. I am past retirement age, so I should probably just stop grovelling and quit.

I don't really care about pay-rates, but I like respect.

Since I dropped-out of school (when everyone said "you wouldn't dare leave, think of your future") and I just had to call their bluff (even if I starved, as they implied) I have had the same approach.

I remain a loyal and tireless worker for bosses who treat me with respect, but if someone implicitly threatens me with "think of how you would survive in the current economic climate" I just wanna go (I did that in the late 70s when the country was in crisis and someone thought they had the whip hand). I just walked away. I am still here.

But, if this sounds like a negative rant, imagine this. When we were filming The Dark Crystal we reached the end of the day (18:00h) and had not quite captured something we had all been working towards through the afternoon.

Now in the film business, if you go one minute over, all the unions claim another hour (at overtime rates). We were so close to getting the shot. Jim Henson announced that he couldn't afford overtime for 150 people, but he and Frank Oz wanted one more try at getting it in the can before we all went home. And, that's how beloved they were, as bosses, every person in that room turned a blind eye to their contracts, forgot their unions rules, and their tiredness and family obligations, and unanimously agreed to give it one more go, to get it right!

That's good management. That's working towards excellence with mutual respect. That was my first ever proper job working in a hierarchy (taking orders) - because of my previous 'bad attitude' to authority figures. I guess it spoiled me for the 'real world'.

RIP Jim, and thanks.

When I was youngerLiving confusion and deep despairWhen I was younger ah hahLiving illusion of freedom and power

When I was youngerFull of ideas and broken dreams (my friend)When I was younger ah hahEverything simple but not so clear

Living on borrowed timeWithout a thought for tomorrowLiving on borrowed timeWithout a thought for tomorrow

Now I am olderThe more that I see the less that I know for sureNow I am older ah hahThe future is brighter and now is the hour

Living on borrowed timeWithout a thought for tomorrowLiving on borrowed timeWithout a thought for tomorrow

Good to be olderWould not exchange a single day or a yearGood to be older ah hahLess complications everything clear

Living on borrowed timeWithout a thought for tomorrowLiving on borrowed timeWithout a thought for tomorrow

Monday, February 13, 2012

My birthday may still be associated with chocolate and cherubs, satin hearts and red balloons, sloppy romance and spending money - but at least it's a secular day now - all the religion squeezed out of it. I don't think the Church ever felt comfortable with Valentinus the Gnostic

In 66 years I have travelled 38,504,400,000 miles round and round and round the sun, at 66,000 mph. And that doesn't allow for other movements (sun around the galaxy centre, etc)

They didn't retire me yet, so I can still afford teeth, and shoes, and that sort of thing - before I fall into the black pit of the tiny pension

This winter I decided to work on my old man archtype (I get bored with all this 'you don't look yer age stuff') but it doesn't involve much more than letting the beard grow out (that fools most people, for some reason).

When George Burns was 93 he was at a party. It was after midnight and he had a whiskey in one hand and a cigar in the other.

Somebody asked him "What does your doctor say about your lifestyle?" and he said "Oh he died long time ago."

Admittedly, I bought the first edition (1993) - the one that inspired me - and he has updated the second edition (2001) - with the cover shown here.Indeed, he has offered some draft updates, should a third edition ever appear.

What I found, to help me shape the essay/thesis (with a deadline of a week!) was his reference to mixed-means theatre. He analysed the various forms that he covers with that term (Happenings, stage performances, kinetic environments, etc) using what I assume he got from Aristotle's rather rigid 'unities' for theatrical performances:

The unity of action: a play should have one main action that it follows, with no or few subplots.

The unity of place: a play should cover a single physical space and should not attempt to compress geography, nor should the stage represent more than one place.

The unity of time: the action in a play should take place over no more than 24 hours.

However, to describe the wider variety of audience, performer, creator interactions of mixed media / multimedia performance (including circus, in my terms) he offered this table:

And that gave me all the structure I needed to help my friend shape his thesis. We simply worked through all the practical projects and shows he had done, and described them as involving:

open or closed space

fixed or variable time

fixed or variable actions.

So I owe Mr Kostelanetz quite a bit (and the library for having a copy of his book available at the time).On top of all that, I love dictionaries, and this remains a treasure trove of cross-references, eye-openers, and other fun. He doesn't only cover some of my own favourite artists: Duchamp, Cage, Jarry, Joyce; but other perhaps less expected ones like Burroughs, Dylan and Bucky Fuller; and also genres from Performance Art to Punk Rock to Hypertext, and groups like Fluxus and Dada.